State help for just one childcare service in Cork in two years

Just one childcare service in Cork has received specific Government funding to help with operating costs in the last two years, despite several services having closed and others having rejected the core funding schemes during this time.

The specific funding — known as ‘sustainability funding’ — was introduced to help providers with increasing operating costs.

The core funding scheme is a Government grant for providers of early learning & childcare and school-age childcare, which sees the operators paid by the State, rather than parents.

Cork providers have previously expressed concern at the low level of assistance provided by the scheme, saying it is insufficient to cover the costs of running the service and paying staff.

In addition, the high level of administrative work required for the scheme puts smaller services under staffing pressure.

Fianna Fáil TD Aindrias Moynihan recently asked children’s minister Norma Foley how many childcare providers had been referred in Cork city and county for sustainability funding.

He also queried the measures being taken to identify childcare services that may require assistance with the ‘core funding’ initiative.

Ms Foley said that from 2023 to 2025, just one service provider in Cork was approved for sustainability funding, and this was for emergency capital works.

“While one service has been provided with sustainability funding, Cork county and Cork city childcare committees and Pobal work together to offer non-financial support to childcare services daily,” Ms Foley said.

“This support can take the form of assisting services with analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, general operational supports for partner services, as well as more specialised advice and assistance appropriate to individual circumstances.”

Since 2017, the department has offered sustainability funding to community childcare services in crisis, she said.

Ms Foley said that the supports provide emergency funding to community services where a need is identified, but also to ensure that the service’s own team identify and resolve underlying issues that may have caused the initial crisis.

Any service experiencing difficulties with core funding should contact its childcare committees, with details to do so found online on gov.ie by searching ‘City and County Childcare Committees’.

Some 26 early-years services in Cork closed between January 2023 and December 2024, and at least 10 Cork early-years providers have withdrawn from core funding in the last three years.